Folding container having triangular cross section

ABSTRACT

A folding container having a base wall, two side walls and two triangular end walls, at least one of which being adapted to be opened against the action of resilient means consisting of folded corner portions connecting two edges of said end wall to be opened and adjacent edges of said side walls, each of said corner portions in unfolded position being defined by a substantially straight edge and in folded position being directed into the interior of the container and forming an angle with the end wall.

United States Patent Stranicky, Fedor [451 Apr. 4, 1972 s41 FOLDING CONTAINER HAVING l,933,643 9/1931 Tanner ..229/22 TRIANGULAR CROSS SECTION 2,349,589 5/l944 Harrington ..229/22 [72] lnventor: Stranlcky, Fedor, Solna, Sweden FOREIGN P S 0R APPLICATIONS Assignee; svensk Industries Konsrukflonmh Sweden Beraknlngs-Kontor SIKOB, Solna, Sweden Primary Examiner-James B. Marbert Flled: 1970 Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [21] Appl.No.: 2,530 R C A folding container having a base wall, two side walls and two [30] Foreign Appnufion priority Dam triangular end walls, at least one of which being adapted to be Jan. 13,1969 Sweden ..380/69 opened against the action of resilient means consisting of Feb. 10, l969 Sweden ..1800/69 folded corner portions connecting two edges of said end wall to be opened and adjacent edges of said side walls, each of [521 [1.8. CI ..229/22 said corner portions in unfolded position being defined by a [51] Int. Cl. ..B65d 5/00 substantially straight edge and in folded position being [58] Field ofSearch ..229/22 ir e in h interior of the container and forming an angle with the end wall. [56] V Rem-macs Cited 14 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures UNlTED STATES PATENTS 695,557 3/1902 l-loughland ..229/22 Patented April 4, 1972 3,653,576

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented April 4, 1972 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented April 4, 1972 3,653,576

3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FOLDING CONTAINER HAVING TRIANGULAR CROSS 1 SECTION This invention relates to a folding container having two triangular and preferably equilateral end walls, at least one of which being adapted to be easily opened and reclosed, and consisting of a blank form having crease lines so as to define a base wall having two longitudinal side edges and two transversal end edges, two side walls each having an inner side edge coinciding with the longitudinal side edges of the base wall, said triangular end walls having each a side edge coinciding with the transversal end edges of the base wall, the remaining side edges of each end wall being of the same length as and being positioned along transversal end edges of the adjacent side walls between which remaining side edges of the end walls and transversal end edges of the side walls of the blank form, four comer portions are located which are folded along crease lines extending from the corners of the base wall, and means at the outer side edge of at least one of the side walls for joining the outer side edges of said side walls.

The design and properties of folding containers are depending on the fact that certain requirements with respect to different kinds of goods to be packed in the containers are to be complied with. A container e.g. for bonbons and some kinds of food, as pellets, tablets, pieces of chocolate, nuts, lumps of sugar, etc. should be easy to open and to reclose. A container for fluid should have similar properties and, additionally, should be fluidtight, and, hence, usually is more complicated. A container intended for use in shops for fast wrapping of objects or merchandise should be easy to put in order and to carry. For a nice look of the container it should preferably have no obvious joints on its faces.

Because the manufacture of the blank forms of these different kinds of containers requires different sets of tools a want exists of a container which without essential alterations can be used for these and other purposes.

The object of the invention is to achieve such a multi-purpose container, which is easy and cheap in manufacture. In accordance with the invention this is achieved by a folding container having the features stated in the accompanying claims. As the comer portions of at least one end of the claimed container have strictly defined edges, are situated in the interior of the container and are forming an anglewith the adjacent end wall this end wall can be opened without damages of the corner portions against a strong resilient action which is imparted to the end wall by the corner portions. This resilient action can be amplified by positioning the corner portions near the inner surfaces of the side walls. The container is to be sealed or joined only along the outer side edges of the side walls which for this purpose are provided with one or more locking flaps.

The claimed container is especially suitable for rapid wrapping of goods or merchandise in shops, which can be performed in different ways. The goods can be placed on the base wall of the blank form after which the side walls and end walls are folded upwards and the outer side edges of the side walls are joined, e.g. by flaps being provided with adhesive or being taped or stapled together or by means of locking flaps or clamping means. Alternatively, the container is put in order as described above but having one end wall being left open after which the goods are introduced into the container through the open end of the container and then the open end wall is snapped to closed position.

The claimed container e.g. provided with locking flaps or clamping means is especially suitable in connection with selling or serving of food, e.g. hot dogs or ice-cream, due to the fact that the container, after being opened by folding back the side walls, forms a cup-shaped support which is fluidtight and can be used as a plate. This property can be amplified by arranging permanent shortenings of the comer portions to obtain a slightly cup-shaped blank form.

The invention will be more fully described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings showing different embodiments of the claimed container.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a plane blank form,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container made by folding the blank shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the blank in FIG. 1 partly folded,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the container shown in FIG. 2 and having one of its ends opened,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a modified blank form,

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a container made by folding the blank shown in FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a side view of a further modified container,

FIG. 8 is an end view of the container shown in FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is an end view of a modification of the container shown in FIG. 8,

FIG. 10 is an end view of a detail of a modified locking device, and

FIG. 11 is an end view of a container having a further modified locking device.

The blank form shown in FIG. 1 is made of a sheet of paperboard divided by crease lines so as to define a rectangular base wall 1, two rectangular side walls 2 and 3, two triangular and equilateral end walls 4,5, four triangular and isosceles corner portions 6-9, and two sealing or closing flaps 10,11. The comer portions are provided with crease lines 12 coinciding with the bisectors of said comer portions.

The closing of the blank to form the container shown in FIG. 2 can be performed in different ways, e.g. by folding the comer portions 6-9 inwardly so that the side walls 2,3 and end walls 4,5 are folded upwardly, after which the side walls 2,3 and end walls 4,5 simultaneously are folded towards each other to the position shown in FIG. 2 in which the sealing flaps 10,11 are applied against each other.

Alternatively the side walls 2,3 can be folded upwards in a first step and the flaps 10,11 be joined to each other in which position the ends of the container substantially have the'form shown by end wall 5 and corner portions 8,9 in FIG. 4, after which the comer portions 6-9 are pushed inwardly at the same time as the end walls 4,5 are folded upwardly until the latter snap to the position shown in FIG. 2.

The containershown in FIGS. 2 and 4 can be modified in different ways to form a container for fluid. Hence, the container can be provided with an inner lining bag 41 having a tear off comer 42, as indicated in FIG. 4. At least a'portion of the bag 41 adjacent the tear off corner 42 is attached by glueing to an outer portion 13 of the'end wall 5 and corner portions 8,9 forming a spout when the end wall is in its opened position.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 is shown a blank form and a corresponding container for fluid which after the first opening of the container can be reclosed and at the same time be converted to form a container according to the invention. This container is made of a blank which differs from the blank shown in FIG. I in that the comer portions 6'9 are extended beyond tearing off lines 18 corresponding to the straight edges 6a-9a of the comer portions 6-9 in FIG. 1. The extended corner portions 6-9 are in this case folded on the outsides of the side walls 2,3 and have edge portions 17, 17a which are applied and sealed on the outsides of sealed flaps l0 and 11 as shown in FIG. 6. After tearing ofi the comer portions 8 and 9 along lines 18 end wall 5 can be opened. Reclosing of the container is achieved by folding the reduced corner portions integrated with end wall 5 inwardly and at the same time folding end wall 5 upwardly so that this wall is snapped to the position shown in FIG. 2, in which said reduced corner portions are situated in the interior of the container. Tearing off lines 18 are required only at one end of the container and the edge portions 17, may be shorter than flaps 10,11.

The side walls 2,3 of the container shown in FIG. 2 may have e.g. trapezoidal shape instead of rectangular shape. Thus, the side edges 2c,3c may be longer than the side edges 1a,lb so as to obtain inclined end walls 4,5 having their corner portions 6-9 situated beyond planes perpendicular to the base wall 1 and containing the end edges 10,111 of the base wall 1, which is suitable in connection with containers intended to be used as containers for food as well as plates.

The crease lines lc,ld between the end walls 4,5 and the base wall 1 can be slightly curved to obtain an amplified snap action of the end walls 4,5 and for the same reason the middle portions of the crease lines la, 1b may be weak or omitted and/or the crease lines 2a,2b,3a,3b and 12 may be more accentuated than the crease lines 4a,4b,5a,5b so that the comer portions 6-9 are situated near the inner surfaces of the side walls 2 and 3.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 is shown a container for food ready to be consumed. This container is similar to the container shown in FIG. 2 but locking flap 11 is inserted in the narrow interspace between side wall 2 and comer portions 6 and 8. The flap 10 is used as a handle for lifting the container and is provided with transversal slots 26 for insertion and retaining of objects, e.gv a paper serviette and/or a fork etc. In FIG. 9 said lifting flap 10 is folded to form a flattened tube and the free end of said flap is attached to the lifting flap 10 or the side wall 2.

In FIG. 10 is shown a container similar to the container shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 but only the end portions of flap 11 are inserted between side wall 2 and the comer portions 6,8 in order to firmly keep the top ends of the container clamped together, which is necessary for retaining end walls 4,5 in position. .1 he central portion of flap 11 is denoted 27 and is applied against flap 10. Both flaps l and 27 are provided with transversal slots 26 as shown in FIG. 7 and in which slots 26 an object 29 is inserted securely locking flaps l0 and 27 to each otherv The container shown in FIG. I] differs from the container shown in FIG. in that flap 10 is provided with a longitudinal slot 28 through which flap 27 is inserted and folded to form a flattened tube. The free end of flap 27 is inserted through slot 28 and an object 29 is enclosed by the tube-shaped flap 27.

What is claimed is: g

l. A folding container having 'two triangular and preferably equilateral end walls, at least one of which is adapted to be easily opened and reclosed, comprising a blank form having crease lines so as to define a base wall having two longitudinal side edges and two transverse end edges, two side walls each having an inner side edge coinciding with the longitudinal side edges of the base wall, said triangular end walls each having a side edge coinciding with the transverse end edges of the base wall, the remaining side edges of each end wall being of the same length as and being positioned along transverse end edges of the adjacent side walls between the remaining. side edges of the end walls and transverse end edges of the side walls of the blank form, four corner portions positioned so as to be foldable along crease lines extending from the corners of the base wall, and means along the outer side edge of at least one of the side walls for joining adjoining the outer side edges of said side walls, the corner portions at least at one end of the blank form being defined by substantially straight edges extending between the outer comer of the end wall and the adjacent outer corners of the side walls wherein said folded comer portions are directed into the interior of the container so as to form an angle with the end walls.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crease lines of the comer portions coincide with bisectors of said comer portions, so as to extend from the comers of said base well.

3. A container as claimed in claim I, wherein each corner portion is provided with a cut forming lap-jointed edges.

4. A container as claimed in claim 3, including an inner lining bag having a tear off corner in the container, said bag having a portion adjacent said tear off comer attached to at least the outer comer of one of said end walls (e.g. 5

5. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crease lines between the comer portions and the side walls and the crease lines of said comer portions are more accentuated than the crease lines between the corner portions and the end walls.

6. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the side walls is at least at the end portions of its outer side edge provided with a locking flap foldable into the interspace between the other side wall and the adjacent corner portions.

7. A container as claimed in claim 6, wherein said other side wall is provided at its outer side edge with a lifting flap designed to form a handle.

8. A container as claimed in claim 7, wherein said lifting flap is foldable to form a flattened tube, the free end of said lifting flap being attached to said lifting flap or said other side wall.

9. A container as claimed in claim 7, wherein said lifting flap is provided with slots for insertion and retaining of objects in said slots.

10. A container as claimed in claim 6, wherein said side walls are provided at their outer side edges with central flaps joined thereto by detachable connecting means.

11. A container as claimed in claim 10, wherein said central flaps are connected by objects inserted through slots in said central flaps.

12. A container as claimed in claim 6, wherein one of said side walls is provided at its outer side edge with a central flap having a longitudinal slot, the remaining side wall having a lift ing flap extending through said longitudinal slot.

13. A container as claimed in claim 12, wherein said lifting flap is provided with slots for retaining objects at said lifting flap.

14. A container as claimed in claim 12, wherein said lifting flap is foldable to form a flattened tube, the free end of said lifting flap being attached to said lifting flap or said remaining side wall so as to be insertable into said longitudinal. 

1. A folding container having two triangular and preferably equilateral end walls, at least one of which is adapted to be easily opened and reclosed, comprising a blank form having crease lines so as to define a base wall having two longitudinal side edges and two transverse end edges, two side walls each having an inner side edge coinciding with the longitudinal side edges of the base wall, said triangular end walls each having a side edge coinciding with thE transverse end edges of the base wall, the remaining side edges of each end wall being of the same length as and being positioned along transverse end edges of the adjacent side walls between the remaining side edges of the end walls and transverse end edges of the side walls of the blank form, four corner portions positioned so as to be foldable along crease lines extending from the corners of the base wall, and means along the outer side edge of at least one of the side walls for joining adjoining the outer side edges of said side walls, the corner portions at least at one end of the blank form being defined by substantially straight edges extending between the outer corner of the end wall and the adjacent outer corners of the side walls wherein said folded corner portions are directed into the interior of the container so as to form an angle with the end walls.
 2. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crease lines of the corner portions coincide with bisectors of said corner portions, so as to extend from the corners of said base well.
 3. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein each corner portion is provided with a cut forming lap-jointed edges.
 4. A container as claimed in claim 3, including an inner lining bag having a tear off corner in the container, said bag having a portion adjacent said tear off corner attached to at least the outer corner of one of said end walls (e.g. 5).
 5. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crease lines between the corner portions and the side walls and the crease lines of said corner portions are more accentuated than the crease lines between the corner portions and the end walls.
 6. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the side walls is at least at the end portions of its outer side edge provided with a locking flap foldable into the interspace between the other side wall and the adjacent corner portions.
 7. A container as claimed in claim 6, wherein said other side wall is provided at its outer side edge with a lifting flap designed to form a handle.
 8. A container as claimed in claim 7, wherein said lifting flap is foldable to form a flattened tube, the free end of said lifting flap being attached to said lifting flap or said other side wall.
 9. A container as claimed in claim 7, wherein said lifting flap is provided with slots for insertion and retaining of objects in said slots.
 10. A container as claimed in claim 6, wherein said side walls are provided at their outer side edges with central flaps joined thereto by detachable connecting means.
 11. A container as claimed in claim 10, wherein said central flaps are connected by objects inserted through slots in said central flaps.
 12. A container as claimed in claim 6, wherein one of said side walls is provided at its outer side edge with a central flap having a longitudinal slot, the remaining side wall having a lifting flap extending through said longitudinal slot.
 13. A container as claimed in claim 12, wherein said lifting flap is provided with slots for retaining objects at said lifting flap.
 14. A container as claimed in claim 12, wherein said lifting flap is foldable to form a flattened tube, the free end of said lifting flap being attached to said lifting flap or said remaining side wall so as to be insertable into said longitudinal. 